PUT OFF THE FLESH, PUT ON CHRIST

PUT OFF THE FLESH, PUT ON CHRIST

In Colossians 3:5–16, the Apostle Paul is instructing the believer to no longer live the life they use to live. He insists that there must be a change in character if one is truly saved and has the Holy Spirit living in them. This change is not automatic for most and Paul is saying that if we want Christ to live through us, we have to first clean out the vessel so God can use it. This portion of scripture contains three lists. Two are lists of sins and one is a list of virtues with each containing five things.

Sexual Acts of the Flesh

In verse 5, Paul begins with a call to “put to death therefore what is earthly in you” (Col. 3:5 [ESV]). He lists certain sexual acts of the flesh that describe the behavior of the Colossians before coming to Christ. The use of the phrase “once walked” signifies a continuing behavior and lifestyle. Paul is instructing all believers, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to put away their former self which has been crucified with Christ. This declaration was also made to the Roman church, “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin” (Rom. 6:6).

The sins listed here are all addressing sexual immorality. The terms for passion and evil desire are also used together in 1 Thess. 4:5 and are translated as “passion of lust.” Covetousness typically refers to greed but since it is used in this contest of sexual sin, it could mean an indulgence of sexual pleasure without moral regard (Utley 1997, 42). These are lifestyle sins that have to be done away with. Ephesians 5 states, “sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints” (Eph. 5:3). The regenerate believer possesses a reformed mind that must guide their actions. This is what the word “repent” means. In verse 10, Paul tells the Colossians that their mind has been “renewed in knowledge” after Christ and that is the framework for the new self (Col. 3:10). As Anders points out, “Christ changed our life; therefore, it is up to us to change our lifestyle” (Anders 1999, 328).

In our culture, we have gradually fallen into a state of relativism where the decision on whether or not something is moral lies within the individual. We are told to “follow our heart” even though the Bible tells us that our heart is deceitful and wicked (Jer. 17:9). Christians can fall into this trap under the guise of God wanting them to be happy and they try to rationalize sexual relationships outside of marriage. Paul clearly states that the believer is to no longer engage in this lifestyle.

Sinful Acts of the Heart

Paul shifts gears with the next list of five in that those listed are a reflection of our hearts. Jesus said that things such as those listed in these verses are a result of the person being defiled from within and that the problem is a sinful heart that causes these things to come out of man (Mark 7:20-23). Our prayer should be that of Kind David when he prayed to God asking, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me” (Ps. 51:10).

Most would group anger, wrath and malice into one but they mean very different things. “Anger” refers to long lasting, simmering anger and “wrath” means fast burning anger or outbursts of rage with “malice” referring to vicious thoughts and the desire to hurt others (Utley 1997, 42). These obviously reflect a heart that is not yielding to the Spirit of God and is instead enslaved by the flesh.

The remaining two refer to the power of our speech. People listen to how we talk and what we say. Is the way we talk to and about others any different than those that are not saved? Will people that knew us both before and after salvation see a difference? Paul also gives a similar exhortation to the Ephesians when he said  to “let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up” (Eph. 4:29). As a believer, we are to love one another and treat each other with respect. We are to set an example for others to follow with our goal being for others to see Christ in us and see Him living through us.

Virtues of Christ

After calling out specific outward sins of the flesh and inward sins of the heart, Paul lists the virtues that the believer to “put on” after having shed the previous. The first thing to note is that Paul makes an effort to point out that we are different, that we have been chosen by God and that we are made holy and beloved by Him. Peter also made this declaration when he wrote that we “are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession” (1 Pet. 2:9). This is an appeal, similar to the one made in Romans 12:1, for the believer to understand that he must live a life honoring God and do away with the past sins of his life and to no longer conform to the world but allow himself to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29).

The virtues listed in verses 12 and 13 are in stark contrast to the sins of the heart listed in verse 8. Instead of having malice in our hearts we should have compassion. Instead of fits of wrath we should exhibit meekness and patience. These are the qualities that Christ presented in the Sermon on the Mount that should be a part of every believer’s life and a reflection of their heart.

The one in this list that I have seen destroy people is the lack of forgiveness. We tend to forgive non-believers because, for some reason, we expect them to hurt or lie to us. We may feel that our forgiveness might win them to Christ so we put away our hurt and pride and show them compassion in order to allow them to experience the grace that we experienced in Christ. This seems to fall apart when it is a Christian that has hurt us. We consider them saved so there is no need to reflect Christ and we are disappointed in their behavior because we have adopted this false image that all believers are perfect and never make a mistake.

For reconciliation to take place, the offender must recognize, apologize and repent from the offense and seek forgiveness. But this does not have to take place in order for us to offer forgiveness because forgiveness is not something that must be asked for but it is something that must be given. The basis for this is the last thing that Paul instructs us to put on and that is love. If we truly love one another, we will forgive regardless of whether or not the person has asked for it. We have to realize that man never had to ask God for forgiveness before He sent Jesus to die on the cross. When Adam and Eve sinned, we do not read of them seeking God for forgiveness. Paul concludes in verse 15 with the instruction to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts because that is what we were called into, the peace of Christ.

Our Response

In these verses we understand that Paul is instructing us to no longer live under the yoke of sin that once enslaved us. He tells us to put those things away and instead set our hearts and minds on the things of Christ. With a renewed mind comes renewed action. We have to take steps to rid ourselves from our past lifestyle. This may mean losing some friends, changing jobs, changing hobbies or even ending a relationship. Whatever the action, it must be done in order to live free from what we have already been set free from. Richard Melick puts it clear when he writes, “The first aspect of victory over sin is to know the reality of the Christian experience. Death with Christ is the foundation” (Melick 2001, 287). Our sinful nature has been put to death with Christ, but that will do us no good if we do not fully understand that sin no longer has power over us. We put off the old self by turning and walking away from our former life of sin and we put on Christ by resting in His grace and letting His Spirit guide us and live through us.

References

Anders, Max. 1999. Galatians-Colossians. Vol. 8 of The Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Logos e-book.

Melick, Richard R. 2001. Philippians, Colossians, Philemon. Vol. 24 of The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Logos e-book.

Utley, Robert James. 1997. Paul Bound, the Gospel Unbound: Letters from Prison (Colossians, Ephesians and Philemon, Then Later, Philippians). Vol 8 of The Study Guide Commentary Series. Marshall, TX: Bible Lessons International. Logos e-book.

Thoughts on Worship in the American Church

Below is an essay I wrote for school regarding worship and Hebrews 13:15

Worship in American culture has become, from my experience, synonymous with "rock concert." Now don't get me wrong, I love upbeat music and contemporary worship services, but Dr. Mitchell hit the nail on the head when he asked that when we compliment a worship service, what are we complimenting (Mitchell 2006, 2). I have heard so many people claim that a worship service was great but they were only referring to the music. We rate worship by the quality of the music. I have heard some really good worship teams as far as music is concerned, but cannot say they all were effective in leading a congregation in actual worship of the Lord.

So many people will leave a church because the "worship was bad." Really? How can recognizing God for who He is and praising His name ever be bad? What they mean is, "I don't like the music and since they do not please me, I am outta here!"

Now here is where I have to confess to my fellow students. I have been guilty of being in a worship service were the music was BAD and blaming my lack of intimacy with the Lord on the music. I would even let my heart go hard when I would walk in and see a particular person leading worship. I do believe that poor music can be a distraction and should be addressed if possible, but the bigger problem is me letting my heart be distracted. Worship is supposed to be a response to God and instead I am responding to the distraction.

Hebrews 13:15 states that worship is a sacrifice or an offering of praise. This is echoed In Psalm 107:22 and Psalm 116:17. As Mitchell points out, worship is composed of a selfless acknowledgment and humble adoration of God that is evidenced by acts of service (Mitchell 2006, 3-5). Paul states this in Romans 12-2 when he writes, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship" (Romans 12-1 [ESV]). The word for "worship" can also be translated as "service" which also shows that worship is am act of service to God. Since Paul instructs us to offer our bodies as a "living" sacrifice and the writer of Hebrews encourages us to "continually" offer up a sacrifice of praise, worship is not just something we should be doing for the first 15 or 20 minutes of church on Sunday. Spiritual formation is affected in that if we limit ourselves to only worshipping God a few minutes a week and if that worship is only composed of singing along and clapping our hands, we are missing out on an opportunity to honor and bless God with an offering of praise. These things are key to being transformed into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Living Sacrifice...Living Pure

A Commentary of Romans 12:1–2 and Ephesians 4:17–20

Living Sacrifice

Romans 12:1-2 states, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2 [NKJV]).

The first thing to notice is the use of the word “therefore” in first verse. In the earlier chapters, the Apostle Paul wrote about how we had been slaves to sin but set free through the death and resurrection of Christ and how Israel had broken free from the yoke of the law. In the previous chapter, he explained how the Gentiles had been grafted into the wild olive tree and brought in to the family of God. The final verse in that chapter states, “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen” (Rom. 11:36). The use of the word “therefore” signifies that in response to the mercies God has shown us and since all things are of Christ, through Christ and to Christ, we are to submit our lives back to Him as living sacrifices.

In the Old Testament, the priests were the ones that offered up the sacrifices to God. Peter writes in his epistle that believers are part of a royal priesthood and have the ability to offer spiritual sacrifices to God (1 Pet. 2:9). Hebrews 13:15 states that God is well pleased with sacrifices of praises and thanks to His name and doing good works. F.F. Bruce commented that, “the sacrifices of the new order do not consist in taking the lives of others, like the ancient animal sacrifices, but in giving one’s own” (Bruce 1985, 213). Our lives should be a living sacrifice to God since we have Jesus Christ living inside of us.

Verse 2 states, “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2). With words like “conformed” and “transformed” the Holy Spirit is telling us to not live our lives in the pattern of the world but to allow our nature to be changed in the image of Jesus. This change is brought about by an awakening of our Spirit that has been dead up until the point we asked Jesus to live in us.

God will transform us and make us spiritually minded by using His Word. As we spend time meditating on God’s Word, memorizing it, and making it a part of our inner person, God will gradually make our mind more spiritual (Wiersbe 1996, chap. 11, under “Right Relationships Mean Right Living”). Spiritual formation is rooted in deepening our relationship with God as become more like Christ and it has to begin with our minds. The word in verse two for “prove” is better translated as “discern” meaning that unless our minds are transformed into the mind of Christ, we will never be able to understand and reveal God’s perfect will for our life. When we are freed from the control of the world, we can discover what God has in mind for us. The renewed mind enables us to discern the will of God (Mounce 2001, chap. 6, under “How Righteousness Manifests Itself”).

The New Man

Ephesians 4:17-20 instructs us to no longer live the lifestyle of the sinful. To fully understand these verses, we need to understand the level of depravity of the Ephesians. Ephesus was the home of the pagan temple of Diana (Artemis in the Greek), which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The Gentile Ephesian’s worship of Diana involved in the worst kind of immorality of pagan religion and left Ephesus a place of temple prostitution, crime, immorality, idolatry and unspeakable sin (Anders 1999, chap. 10, under “The Calling to Holiness”).

Paul is warning them to “no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind” (Eph. 4:17). The word for “futility” also means “emptiness,” warning them that continuing in that lifestyle would lead to an empty life void of any fruit and lacking any rewards. Paul gives a similar warning in Romans 1:21 where he states that the sinful were futile in their thinking and their hearts had become hardened. In Ephesians 4:18, Paul says that their hardened hearts led to ignorance and a darkened understanding. The hardened heart and darkened mind result in an unholy life that is guided by sin and enslaved by the flesh. The apostle declares in the second letter to the Corinthian church that the power of sin and Satan had blinded the minds of unbelievers, keeping them from “seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4).

The believers in Ephesus had become “callous” to the sins they were committing. This word means that they had lost all sense of shame and had truly become lost in the sinful acts they were engaged in. Paul warns them that this was not the model set forth by Christ and not the way they should be living if they look to Christ as an example.

The warning is the same for us today. If we truly repent of our sins and turn to Christ, we cannot turn back to the sin that we have been set free from. This leads to another major key to spiritual formation: it is not enough to simply know about Christ, we must live as Christ. Willard penned that we can become like Christ by following Him in His overall lifestyle. He also added that we must engage in the same activities that Jesus practiced and that by doing so, we would be able to maintain a constant fellowship with the Father just as Jesus did (Willard 2009, preface).

When we think of the word “formation,” we think of order, discipline and direction. If our desire is to be more like Christ and to follow certain spiritual disciplines, we have to first be disciplined enough to no longer live like we used to and to turn and walk away from our sin. We have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the kingdom of Jesus Christ as Colossians 1:13 declares but this is only part of it. We have been saved by grace but have also been given new life and with this new life we are to live differently from the world as part of a “different world” (Willard 2009, chap. 3, under “What the Resurrection Meant to the Friends of Jesus”)

Paul continues in verses 20 through 24 to encourage all believers to put off their “old self” and be clothed with the righteousness of Christ. He says that our minds will be renewed and we will no longer be slaves to deceitful desires. We can embrace the new life that has been given to us and walk in the example set by Jesus Christ.

References

Anders, Max. 1999. Galatians-Colossians. Vol. 8 of The Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Logos e-book.

Bruce, F. F. 1985. The Letter of Paul to the Romans: 213. Quoted in Robert Mounce, Romans. Vol. 27 of The New American Commentary [Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2001].

Mounce, Robert H. 2001. Romans. Vol. 27 of The New American Commentary. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers. Logos e-book.

Wiersbe, Warren W. 1996. The Bible Exposition Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books. Logos e-book.

Willard, Dallas. 1988. The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives. San Francisco: Harper & Row. Kindle e-book.